


Onesie Panic

by ShadeCrawler



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, Unsypathetic Dark Sides, self-deprecating thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeCrawler/pseuds/ShadeCrawler
Summary: Summary: Virgil was more relaxed in this one moment than he had been in a long time. But, of course, Thomas had to summon him and ruin it. And, of course, he had to be wearing his secret onesie when it happened.Warnings: Unsympathetic Dark Sides, panic attacks, & self-deprecating thoughts.Characters: Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, Patton Sanders, Roman Sanders, & Thomas SandersBig Thanks to @sanders-trash-4ever for going over this story for me and editing it!





	Onesie Panic

****

Virgil could safely say he was more happy and relaxed in this moment than he had been in a long time.

He was cuddling with Patton on the other’s bed, nestled safely in the older Side’s arms. The two of them were sharing a private, quiet moment together. No talking, no moving. Just quiet comfort being shared between the two of them.

Virgil shifted a little in Patton’s arms, pouting when the long ears on his hood fell into his eyes.

Another part of the bonding experience? They were snuggled up in their favourite onesies, with Patton in his beloved cat onesie, and Virgil wearing the one that Patton had given him. The black puppy onesie with purple spots modelled Virgil’s hoodie had been a secret birthday gift from the Moral side.

He tried to blow the floppy ear out of his eyes but failed miserably. Patton giggled softly, reaching down and moving the ear to the side. “Doing alright there, kiddo?”

Virgil hummed happily and nodded. He closed his eyes and yawned, smacking his lips.

Patton giggled again and squeezed Virgil affectionately. “Wanna take a nap, Virge?”

Virgil shook his head. “Nope. I’m fine,” He said. “Just, comfy.” A blush crept into his cheeks, and he was glad that Patton couldn’t see his face. It would be so much worse if Patton started cooing about how cute his “dark, strange son” was.

Patton nodded. “I feel you there. It’s nice to just lie down and have someone to cuddle with, isn’t it?” Virgil nodded again and snuggled even closer to Patton, who was more than happy to squeeze Virgil a little tighter.

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed. Even though he had told Patton he wasn’t tired he could feel his eyes slipping closed. He was just so comfy and Patton’s room wasn’t so bad now that he wasn’t in the midst of a panic attack because of all of the pressure of the future bearing down on him.

Patton had dimmed the lights to a significantly less eye-splitting brightness than usual so they could relax, and Virgil honestly didn’t know how he dealt with how bright the lights were all the time. It certainly made it easier to understand why Patton needed glasses.

Virgil’s eyes slid shut and he let out a content sigh. This was incredible. He loved the other Sides and Thomas, but it was nice to just hang out with his best friend and “dad”.

But like all good things, it had to end.

Virgil didn’t even have time to react. He felt the tug of Thomas summoning him and only had time to think, ‘landing on the stairs is definitely going to hurt’.

Thankfully, Patton saved him. It seemed that Virgil wasn’t the only one that was summoned, and instead of letting Virgil rise up on the stairs, he pulled Virgil with him.

Virgil yelped when the two of them hit of them hit the ground. It wasn’t as bad as it would’ve been had he hit the stairs, but it still stung. Patton gently released Virgil from his grip, carefully scanning the other for injuries.

“Virgil!”

“Patton!”

Virgil yelped again as hands pulled him away from Patton’s chest and set him on his feet. Virgil carefully pushed the hood of his onesie down, watching Logan help Patton up in his peripheral vision. He glanced up and saw Thomas staring at him, concern evident in his eyes. He noticed that Roman was hovering beside him, barely having time to acknowledge him before the creative side pushed Thomas out of the way to check on him.

“Are you both okay?!” Roman squawked, gently running his hands over Virgil to examine him for injuries. Virgil noted that Logan was doing the same for Patton,  
turning back to face his host when Thomas nervously cleared his throat.

“I am so sorry!” Thomas apologized, his face twisted with guilt. “I didn’t know you guys were lying down, I totally should’ve checked first!”

Patton stepped away from Logan and, after giving Virgil another once-over and seeing no injuries, waved off Thomas’ apology.“Oh, it’s okay, Thomas,” he said with a smile. “You didn’t know we were lying down, it’s no one’s fault.”

Logan gently laid a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “Are you sure that you two are unharmed?” He asked.

Virgil nodded. “All good here. How about you, Pat?” Patton nodded and pulled down the hood of his onesie. Logan sighed and tugged at the hood.

“How many times must I tell you, Patton? This is not appropriate attire to wear outside of your bedroom. It is childish and irresponsible to wander around in your pyjamas.”

Patton turned around and playfully pouted at Logan, crossing his arms as he whined, “But Logan, we were in bed! And don’t just fuss at me, Virgil’s wearing one too!”

Everyone’s eyes drifted over to Virgil and he realized that he was still wearing his own onesie.

Panic started to set in as he remembered that he had wiped off all his makeup before cuddling with Patton, meaning there was nothing to hide the intense blush spreading across his cheeks as Roman let out a high pitched squeal.

“Oh my gosh! You look so cute!” Roman stepped closer and took Virgil’s hands in his larger ones. Virgil let out a small squeak but didn’t resist, too paralyzed by humiliation to stop Roman from moving him around so they could all get a better look.“Awww, what an adorable puppy!”

“Shut up,” Virgil hissed. He managed to pull his arms out of Roman’s hands, reaching up to pull his hood down over his face.

“I must admit, even though we shouldn’t be wearing pyjamas at this time of day, seeing you in a onesie is rather precious,” Logan said in a mildly amused tone. He bent down so he could see Virgil’s face and grinned. “There is no need to pout, Virgil.”

Virgil glared at him. “I’m not pouting,” he whispered.

Logan’s grin only widened more at his response. The sound of Patton giggling beside him caught his attention, his cheeks turning even redder than before. He glanced around nervously. Why was Patton laughing? What was so funny?

A voice in his head whispered to him, ‘He’s laughing at you because you’re a joke to him. You look like a little kid in this thing, even Logan said as much.’

‘But… Patton’s wearing one too,’ Virgil shot back half-heartedly, but he knew the voice was right. Patton always wore onesies around the Mindscape, and it was ok because his role didn’t require him to be serious all the time. But, Virgil? The dark and broody protector? Wearing a puppy onesie? He shuddered as fear and doubt overwhelmed his thoughts.

The sound of Thomas cooing at him echoed in his head and Virgil winced, shrinking back even further when he noticed that Roman and Logan had started laughing too.

He felt like a black hole had opened in his stomach. They had to think he was a joke, that he was so childish and stupid and incapable. He needed to get out, he needed to leave, he needed to leave, he needed to-

“Virgil?”

The calm voice broke through the wall of panic in his mind. He slowly opened his eyes, taking a second to process what was happening. Logan was crouched in front of him, holding his hands out in an effort to calm him. Thoman, Roman, and Patton had disappeared, meaning that the Anxious Side and the Logical Side were completely alone.

Virgil realized he wasn’t breathing and wheezed, clutching at his chest. He tried again to breathe, but it felt like his lungs were being crushed. As he struggled to inhale, he watched Logan shuffle a little closer, settling his hands on top of Virgil’s.

“You are hyperventilating,” Logan said, his tone calm and steady. He gently pried Virgil’s hands off his chest, remaining unmoving even when Virgil almost violently latched onto his hands. “Can you breathe for me, Virgil?”

Virgil gasped for a moment before nodding.

“Excellent. I am going to lead you through your breathing exercise. Are you ready?” He waited for Virgil to nod before starting to count, gently squeezing his hands to the rhythm.

It took a few minutes and a lot of encouragement from Logan, but Virgil was finally able to breathe a little easier.

“There we go,” Logan murmured. He squeezed Virgil’s hands again, smiling when Virgil gently squeezed back. “You did so well, Virgil. I am very proud of you.” Virgil ducked his head in embarrassment before glancing around, blinking in confusion when he realized his back was against the corner of the stairwell. He must’ve moved back to his usual spot amidst his panic. He tensed when Logan leaned forward without warning, noting that the other Side stopped immediately upon seeing his discomfort.

The logical side cleared his throat. “How are you feeling, Virgil?”

Virgil sniffed a little and shook his head. He took a shuddering breath and whispered, “Not good.” He winced when he realized that his answer had told Logan absolutely nothing, but the other side just nodded in understanding like that one word had been the only thing he needed to hear.

“What was it that made you feel bad?” Logan asked gently. “Was it something that was said?” Virgil thought on that and shook his head. The others never explicitly said that Virgil was being childish and stupid.

“Alright,” Logan murmured, “was it something that was happening that caused you distress?” Virgil hesitated and, for a split second, thought about lying. If he was honest about what had made him upset, Logan would get upset, which would be wrong because Virgil was the one who was acting like an idiot.

They were right to be laughing at him. He was supposed to be their protector, he wasn’t supposed to be indulging in childish things.

But, Logan would know immediately that Virgil wasn’t telling the truth, and Logan had always said that he wouldn’t be able to help if he was being lied to. After a few more moments of deliberation, Virgil nodded.

Logan nodded slowly and furrowed his eyebrows. “Can you tell me what was happening that made you distressed? Was it something we were doing?” Virgil took a deep breath and nodded.

Logan closed his eyes, thinking back on everything that had happened since they’d all been summoned.

“It was stupid,” Virgil mumbled. “I, it was me, I was being stupid.” Logan glanced up and blinked in confusion. He shook his head and frowned a little.

“Falsehood,” Logan said simply. “Would you mind telling me why you believe this to be true?”

Virgil scoffed and shook his head. He clenched his eyes closed to try and hide the tears that were gathering in his eyes. “I, I wasn’t doing my job. I acting like a child and wearing a onesie and cuddling with Patton instead of protecting all of you like I’m supposed to.”

He started to shake again but calmed a little when Logan held his hands tighter.

“Really?” Logan’s voice was full of doubt. “I’m afraid I must disagree with you there, Virgil. It seems to me that you were enjoying yourself wearing that onesie with Patton, that is before you were pulled in with the rest of us. Is that why you feel, as you say, idiotic? Because the rest of us saw you wearing a onesie?”

Virgil curled into himself and nodded. “I, I shouldn’t have. It was irresponsible and childish and everyone was laughing at me and I,” he shook his head in frustration, “I was such a moron!” He let go of Logan’s hands and tangled them in his hair, pulling hard.

Logan reaches up and gently untangled Virgil’s hands from his hair, holding them in one of his hands. He cupped Virgil’s cheek gently with the other, and when Virgil opened his eyes, he saw that Logan’s eyes were filled with kindness and sympathy.

“Virgil, we weren’t laughing at you in a negative manner, though in hindsight I can see why you would think that.” He frowned when Virgil refused to meet his eyes, gently squeezing the other’s hands. “I apologize, Virgil.”

When the anxious side still refused to meet his eyes, he gently tilted Virgil’s face up. Finally, Virgil nervously locked eyes with him. “We were not laughing at you. We were just happy that you were finally relaxing.”

“But,” Virgil shook his head in protest, “I shouldn’t be!”

Logan cocked his head. “Did you not enjoy wearing the onesie?” Virgil shook his head frantically, not wanting to make it seem he didn’t love something Patton had given him. Patton had made him that onesie and he loved it, even if he wasn’t supposed to.

“Why not wear the onesie if you enjoy it, then?”

“I,” Virgil ducked his head, “I’m supposed to be dark and scary and then I come in with something silly like that on? And I’m supposed to protect you all from the Dark Sides! How am I going to do that if I’m acting like an irresponsible little kid?!” He reached behind him and tugged on the ear attached to the hood of his onesie. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you all thought I was incapable of doing my job now. I look like an idiot.”

Logan didn’t say anything for a few seconds and Virgil thought that he’d guessed correctly. But then, Logan said softly, “I wear a onesie on occasion, Virgil. Am I acting like an idiotic little kid when I do so? Is Patton?”

Virgil gasped, shaking his head desperately. “No, of course not! It’s different!”

Logan smiled a little at Virgil’s statement. “How is it different? Why is it wrong for you to wear a onesie, but perfectly fine for Patton and I to do so?”

Virgil stuttered out, “I, well, I’m supposed to protect you guys!”

“And you are doing an amazing job,” Logan said.

Virgil tried to protest, but Logan cut him off. “You are. The Dark Sides haven’t attacked in months, and you are able to defend us perfectly whenever they do. Virgil,” he squeezed Virgil’s hands tightly, “just because you are our protector doesn’t mean you can’t relax and do things as simple as wearing a onesie. Especially if you enjoy doing so.”

Virgil paused and looked up hesitantly. “You- didn’t think I was behaving childishly? That I was a joke?”

“No more than I think Patton is a joke,” Logan said, his lips quirking upward. “And, as much as I get onto Patton for some of the things he does, I would never describe him as a joke.”

Virgil’s lips quirked up into a little smile which then fell into a frown. “Is he mad at me? Patton?”

“Of course he isn’t,” Logan replied. “He was extremely worried but it was decided that he, Roman, and Thomas should wait upstairs while I helped you.” Virgil winced in embarrassment and hunched over slightly. Of course, he had made a scene over a simple misunderstanding.

Logan gently moved his hand from Virgil’s cheek, squeezing his hands again to draw the other side’s attention back to him. “Would you like to stay here for a while longer? Or would you like to go upstairs and see the others?”

The thought of seeing the others right now made his stomach twist, but not as much as the thought of standing downstairs knowing that the others were up there, especially since they’d know that he chose to stay away from them because he was too pathetic to face them. Virgil gripped Logan’s hands tighter and forced himself to stand up. Logan hummed and squeezed Virgil’s hands again, supporting him as he gathered his thoughts and started walking up the stairs.

“That’s right,” Logan murmured supportively. He led Virgil up the stairs, squeezing Virgil’s hands periodically. “You’re doing just fine, Virgil.”

Virgil swallowed and followed Logan to Thomas’ bedroom, where there were hushed voices coming from within. Logan glanced back to him and waited for Virgil to nod in approval before opening the door and pulling Virgil inside with him.

The voices immediately stopped when they entered. Roman and Patton were sitting on Thomas’ bed with Patton curled up in Roman’s arms and his head resting on Roman’s chest. Thomas was sitting at his desk chair and looked up in relief when he saw Virgil. He was looking a little pale but not on the brink of a panic attack so that calmed Virgil down a little.

No one, including Virgil, seemed to know what to say.

Luckily, Logan did. “Virgil and I talked and after he managed to calm down from his panic attack, he explained to me the triggers to his panic attack.” He released Virgil’s hands and then rested one of them on Virgil’s lower back. “Virgil was under the belief that we were laughing at him and thought that we believed that we thought he was acting irresponsibly, childish, and neglecting his duties. The two of us discussed this and while I explained to him how these fears were false, I am hoping that you all could confirm this to him.”

Patton gasped and scrambled out of Roman’s arms and off of the bed. Virgil yelped as Patton pulled him into his arms for a warm hug. “Of course we don’t think those things, Kiddo! Virgil, Vee, we know how much you work to protect us but taking a break every now and then doesn’t mean you’re not doing your job.”

“Padre’s right!” Roman agreed, slipping off the bed and joining them, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “It was, nice, actually. To see you relaxed. And,” he grinned bashfully, “it was very cute.”

Virgil winced and wilted in Patton’s arms. “I’m not supposed to be cute,” he muttered. “I’m supposed to be scary.”

“And you can be,” Thomas agreed. He stood up from his desk chair and gave Virgil a calm and fond look that he must have gotten from Logan. “Virgil, you can still be scary at times, we’re not saying you’re not. What we’re saying, is that we’re glad that you realize that you don’t have to be scary all the time. Especially not around us.”

Patton pulled back a little and beamed at Thomas before turning back to Virgil. “Exactly! Kiddo, when you’re protecting us against the Dark Sides, you can be completely terrifying! And when you’re doing your job you can be scary too. But, it’s the type of scary that’s like, oh, Virgil sees something we don’t, what are we missing, type of scary. Those are two completely different types of scary.” He squeezed Virgil’s arms affectionately. “You don’t have to be either type of scary all the time. It’s okay to take time to relax with us.”

Virgil glanced around at his family, looking to see if any of them were lying through their teeth. But, part of being the instinct that told you if something was wrong, was having a pretty good sense for when someone was lying to you. And none of the others were lying to him.

But, just for good measure, he asked softly, “Really?”

Patton smiled at him and brushed back Virgil’s bangs away from his eyes. “Really, Kiddo. But, you don’t have to wear the onesie if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Virgil swallowed and glanced away from the fatherly Side. He reached up and fiddled with the floppy ear of his puppy onesie. “I don’t… it doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” he muttered. “I mean, as long as you don’t all start telling how adorable and cute I am every time I put it on.”

Thomas crossed his arms and raised his chin. “Can it be an unspoken thing?” He asked seriously.

Virgil huffed out a laugh and nodded. “Yeah, fine, whatever. It can be an unspoken thing.”

Roman cheered and pulled Virgil and Patton into a hug, sparking a yelp of surprise from Virgil and giggles from Patton. “Group hug! Get in here you two! And that means you, Nerd!”

Thomas eagerly joined the hug, wrapping his arms around Virgil and Patton from behind, but Logan sighed. “Is a group hug really necessary?”

Virgil glanced back at Logan from over both his and Thomas’ shoulder. “Only if you want to, Lo.”

Logan’s face softened a little and stepped forward, patting Patton and Thomas on the back. “Is this satisfactory for you all?”

Patton made a happy sound and leaned back into it. “It’s perfect, Teach!”

Virgil closed his eyes and leaned his head on Roman’s chest. Yes, this was as close to perfect as it got.


End file.
